Beckhoff Automation: PC-based automation and EtherCAT terminals for electrical measurement

Overview

Beckhoff Automation develops PC-based control systems and modular I/O for industrial applications. Its energy-measurement terminals fit into that control architecture rather than acting as standalone network meters. They acquire electrical signals and exchange values through EtherCAT with the controlling system.

The EL3443 and EL3453 provide different measurement arrangements. A further EL3443-0013 variant changes the current-sensor interface to 333 mV. These distinctions are useful when the project already has an automation platform or needs measurements closely integrated with machine control. They also establish why the terminal, current sensor and EtherCAT configuration must be selected as a complete measurement path.

Offering

The EL3443 specification describes three voltage and three current inputs, with a 1 A CT input and up to 480 V three-phase AC measurement. It supplies electrical values including power, energy and harmonic information. The EL3443-0013 instead accepts a 333 mV current-sensor signal and is described for active transducers or Rogowski coils with an integrated integrator.

The EL3453 introduction specifies voltage measurement up to 690 V AC and four electrically isolated current inputs, including a path for neutral-current measurement. It also describes analysis up to the 63rd harmonic. These are model-specific differences, not capabilities to transfer automatically across the entire EL34xx family.

Technology

Beckhoff's Power Collector documentation explains the communication mechanisms used for supported terminals. EtherCAT process data objects carry cyclic values, while service data objects and variant handling support other measurements and configuration. The application therefore needs the appropriate terminal mapping and master-side configuration, not a Modbus register list copied from a different instrument.

The EL3443 page also documents a zero-crossing timing function using EtherCAT's distributed timing capabilities. This belongs within a compatible control architecture. A separate upstream connection from the controller to an energy platform depends on the chosen software and interface; it is not established by the measurement terminal's electrical input specification.

TwinCAT supplies the software layer above the terminals. TF6105 implements OPC UA Pub/Sub, including UDP and MQTT transports, while TF6720 is a configurable IoT gateway application. Those capabilities do not make an individual EtherCAT measurement terminal a standalone MQTT or Modbus device. Manufacturer documentation.

Customers

Markets

Machine builders can use power-measurement terminals alongside other automation I/O to bring electrical information into the control application. The EL3453 extends that approach to a higher voltage-measurement range and an additional isolated current input. Those differences matter for applications such as generator monitoring and systems that need neutral-current information.

The 333 mV variant offers another sensor arrangement, including compatible active transducers. Its reference to Rogowski sensors includes an integrator requirement, so it should not be interpreted as a universal connection for any bare coil. Selection should consider the complete sensor output and terminal input, followed by the values and timing required by the controller.

Company

The current company overview dates Beckhoff Automation to 1980 and identifies its headquarters in Verl, Germany. The group history also describes the earlier family electrical business established in 1953. These are different historical milestones; this profile uses the automation company's own founding date rather than the older family-business date.

Beckhoff's public technical documentation is a useful part of evaluating the products. The terminal pages define electrical inputs and measurements, while the software documentation explains how those values reach the application. The evidence supports a controller-integrated measurement system, without implying that every terminal independently provides a general-purpose Ethernet or Modbus endpoint.